Last Modified: Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 11:13 p.m.

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They got just that with a rare pair of first-half goals in a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Blues on Saturday night before 3,821 fans at Legion Stadium.

"We have been chasing the games recently,'' said Daniel Steres, whose goal in the 40th minute on an assist from Tom Parratt provided the final margin. "It is good to finally get out in front and hold the lead.''

It was only the Hammerheads' second win this season – both at home.

"We changed our approach, so we did not get caught in attacks and counterattacks and were able to get back on track,'' Steres said.

It did not take long to flip the script after just one previous first-half goal.

In the 16th minute, Jamel Wallace scored his second goal of the season – both in the first half of games – on an assist from Uriah Bentick.

"Both the goals we scored were pretty similar,'' Steres said. "The first one to Jamel came after they freed their line and got him the ball, and he made a hard drive and placed it well in the corner.

"Mine was just off a direct kick. Parratt put me a great ball and barely got over the defender's head. I didn't really know too much about it. I just charged it and got my head on it and it went through. It is all good. Jamel and I have been getting real close recently. We were due for goals.''

The rematch with the Blues was in stark contrast to a 4-0 Los Angeles victory last month when the Hammerheads (2-5) played all but 18 seconds with 10 players and gave up two goals in the first 16 minutes.

This time Los Angeles was coming off back-to-back games, something the Hammerheads are quite familiar with, following consecutive games last weekend.

"We wanted to get on them early and did a pretty good job of putting them on their back feet,'' Steres said.

However, the Blues (4-5-2) made things interesting late on Allan Russell's penalty kick in the 86th minute.

But the outcome was determined in the first half when Hammerheads converted two shots into goals.

"In the first half, I thought we played very well,'' Wilmington coach David Irving said. "We could have had more goals, but you have to give them credit. We got a little nervy at the end. We knew it was going to be because nothing has been easy, but we got the three points we needed.

"In the second half, they came at us a little bit and we had some chances we did not put away. But 2-0 is the most dangerous score line in soccer. If we had gotten the third, maybe we would have scored four or five goals.''

The Hammerheads are 2-2 at Legion in the USL Pro League.

"This was probably the worst we have played of our four home games and we win the game,'' Irving continued. "So it is a funny game.''

The Hammerheads visit the Austin Aztec, a PDL squad, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in a second-round U.S. Open Cup game before returning to league play with road games at Orlando City and VSI Tampa Bay FC next weekend.

<p>The <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9944"><b>Wilmington Hammerheads</b></a> hoped for a quick start after struggling to find the net during a five-game losing streak.</p><p>They got just that with a rare pair of first-half goals in a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Blues on Saturday night before 3,821 fans at <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9931"><b>Legion Stadium</b></a>.</p><p>"We have been chasing the games recently,'' said Daniel Steres, whose goal in the 40th minute on an assist from Tom Parratt provided the final margin. "It is good to finally get out in front and hold the lead.''</p><p>It was only the Hammerheads' second win this season – both at home.</p><p>"We changed our approach, so we did not get caught in attacks and counterattacks and were able to get back on track,'' Steres said.</p><p>It did not take long to flip the script after just one previous first-half goal.</p><p>In the 16th minute, Jamel Wallace scored his second goal of the season – both in the first half of games – on an assist from Uriah Bentick.</p><p>"Both the goals we scored were pretty similar,'' Steres said. "The first one to Jamel came after they freed their line and got him the ball, and he made a hard drive and placed it well in the corner.</p><p>"Mine was just off a direct kick. Parratt put me a great ball and barely got over the defender's head. I didn't really know too much about it. I just charged it and got my head on it and it went through. It is all good. Jamel and I have been getting real close recently. We were due for goals.''</p><p>The rematch with the Blues was in stark contrast to a 4-0 Los Angeles victory last month when the Hammerheads (2-5) played all but 18 seconds with 10 players and gave up two goals in the first 16 minutes.</p><p>This time Los Angeles was coming off back-to-back games, something the Hammerheads are quite familiar with, following consecutive games last weekend.</p><p>"We wanted to get on them early and did a pretty good job of putting them on their back feet,'' Steres said.</p><p>However, the Blues (4-5-2) made things interesting late on Allan Russell's penalty kick in the 86th minute.</p><p>But the outcome was determined in the first half when Hammerheads converted two shots into goals.</p><p>"In the first half, I thought we played very well,'' Wilmington coach David Irving said. "We could have had more goals, but you have to give them credit. We got a little nervy at the end. We knew it was going to be because nothing has been easy, but we got the three points we needed.</p><p>"In the second half, they came at us a little bit and we had some chances we did not put away. But 2-0 is the most dangerous score line in soccer. If we had gotten the third, maybe we would have scored four or five goals.''</p><p>The Hammerheads are 2-2 at Legion in the USL Pro League.</p><p>"This was probably the worst we have played of our four home games and we win the game,'' Irving continued. "So it is a funny game.''</p><p>The Hammerheads visit the Austin Aztec, a PDL squad, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in a second-round U.S. Open Cup game before returning to league play with road games at Orlando City and VSI Tampa Bay FC next weekend.</p>